When making hard cider, the yeast you are using is a critical component. Therefore, I thought a great “Cider Word” article would be to review some of the key but uncommon words that describe the science around how the yeast in your cider works. Familiarizing yourself with these key words should help give you a better understanding of that wonderful process yeast perform for us: fermentation.
- Eukaryotes: organisms composed of one or more cells containing visibly evident nuclei and organelles – Yeast are eukaryotes while bacteria are prokaryotes.
- Metabolites: a product of metabolism, which is the chemical changes by which energy is provided for vital processes and activities – Ethanol is a metabolite of yeast and so are organic acids, volatile compounds, amino acids, and such.
- Mitochondria: organelles of most eukaryotes that are found outside the nucleus, produce energy for the cell through cellular respiration, and are rich in fats, proteins, and enzymes – It produces adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is the energy used to power yeast.
- Pathway: the sequence of usually enzyme-catalyzed reactions by which one substance is converted into another – Pathways describe the complex processes used by yeast to convert one compound into another (e.g. Ehrlich pathway).
- Precursors: a substance, cell, or cellular component from which another substance, cell, or cellular component is formed – This refers to compounds made by yeast that are the first step towards another compounds (e.g. pyruvate is a precursor for ethanol in yeast fermentation).
Do these words make you want to know more about yeast and fermentation? Checkout some of the articles below or search yeast or fermentation on PricklyCider.com and find even more.
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